CSUN RECEIVES SECOND INSTALLMENT FOR QUAKE REPAIRS.

Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff Writer

Cal State Northridge officials said Friday that they have received the second in a series of federal disaster recovery payments that eventually are expected to total nearly $140 million - the lump sum they requested to finish all earthquake repairs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent the campus a $26 million check this week, and campus officials said they expect the additional payments to arrive within the next two months.

But FEMA officials said Friday that they still are reviewing the campus's damage survey reports to determine if they will provide the entire amount.

``Until we come to a definite conclusion in terms of repairs to the campus, we will continue to work with the campus on a number of projects until it is fully restored,'' said FEMA spokeswoman Vallee Bunting.

If the payments continue as expected, repairs could be finished by December 1997, said Art Elbert, Cal State Northridge vice president for administration and finance.

Construction on eight of the worst-damaged buildings, including fine arts and the Oviatt Library towers, could begin by midsummer, he said.

Of the $26 million, $8 million will be used to replace communications equipment destroyed in the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge Earthquake. New, state-of-the-art computers, data processors, video conferencing equipment and a closed-circuit television system will be installed, Elbert said.

The rest of the money will be used to reimburse the university for repairs already completed and pay for contractors overseeing continuing construction.

The February check was the first after a nearly six-month standstill that prompted campus leaders to publicly complain the federal agency had slacked off. Agency officials countered the campus was providing inadequate documentation to receive funding.